


Translucent Connections

by XrosaryX



Category: Code:Realize ～創世の姫君～ | Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth (Visual Novel), Persona 5
Genre: Cardia is immortal, Crossover, F/M, Lupin gang, Magic! Cuz pretty sure Idea would be capable to do these things???, Not poisonous Cardia, Persona X Code: Realize crossover, Persona's have memories, Slight Canon Divergence, Universe linking?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XrosaryX/pseuds/XrosaryX
Summary: So close to touch, but still too far away to hold. Memories and dreams resonate to form a link only temporary for two souls to meet again.





	1. Dreams or Memories?

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING pertaining to Code: Realize and Persona. NOTHING, only the crazy plot ideas.
> 
> Going off my past story, Beyond the Sea of Souls.
> 
> Here's another crossover! I again live for and love these two games and I hope you enjoy this!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren's dreams, but he's unsure how they're connected to the famous thief who is his Persona.

Ren knew Arsene was aware of the dreams that plagued him.

Well, plague was a rather _extreme_ word to use. Though the dreams had not stopped since an incident that had left Ren with a nagging feeling.

A nagging feeling he instinctively felt was coming from Arsene.

The dreams made Ren question if these were Arsene's own memories or something entirely made up from his imagination. The place certainly looked made up. Ren wasn't even sure if such a place existed...

A large city surrounded by what looked like Victorian buildings and technology. The city just gave him a feeling of steampunk aesthetics. It was no way possible it existed, right?

This wasn't an actual place he knew about at school or in real life.

It felt so fictional, but Ren felt as if this place in his dreams was as real as Tokyo.

In these dreams he was either a spectator or physically in them. 

When he was a spectator he often found himself following a man with dark hair and amber eyes. Something about him was...Familiar. Ren felt like he knew him for some odd reason. He was older than he was and had a habit of either tugging the edge of his top hat or fiddling with his cane.

In the dreams he trailed after this man, through different parts of the city or even towards a large mansion. The dreams usually ended there and often Ren wondered why.

Eventually he came to realize when the dreams had him looking at it in a first person perspective...Ren had become the same man he often followed.

When he was in the other man's shoes the dreams were more detailed than he was a spectator.

He saw the mansion filled with artwork and antiques that sparked the thief inside him. Other times he ran into someone who only waved at him briefly or nodded in acknowledgement.

A man with bright red hair who looked so out of place with his disheveled appearance. Yet the smile he gave was comforting. The grin given reminded Ren about Ryuji, this was someone he felt was close to the man.

A man with bright green eyes who stumbled over his own two feet and when he offered his hand out was only shooed away. Something in Ren felt sorry at how exhausted he looked and worry as he pushed his glasses harder against his eyes. 

Another man with glasses, blond, would only briefly give him a nod. Ren didn't miss the hardened look on this man's face. Yet he felt relief flood him from just that nod his way.

There was another man Ren saw as well in the mansion, but rarely. One with white hair whose back was always facing away from him. This one only gave him a wave before disappearing away around the corner and Ren was left with confusion.

Did this mean something? 

It was frustrating how in the two types of dreams Ren could never hear anything. Everything was on silent or sounded like he was underwater. Nothing made sense and Arsene had said nothing.

The raven haired boy narrowed his eyes as he tried to communicate to him....

Only to hear a chuckle before silence.

Ren sighed, dreams? Or memories? Arsene didn't say a single word and Ren felt there was more. He knew he couldn't ask Igor or the twins...The first time he wished to say it in the Velvet Room he could feel a cold shiver race down his spine.

No. No he couldn't ask.

Were these dreams Arsene's?

Was that why he refused to say anything about them?

Ren sighed again before thinking back to what had started this.

Right...It had all started with that couple...


	2. Two Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two strange visitors at the cafe awaken something that is linked to Arsene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING PERTAINING TO THE PERSONA SERIES OR CODE:REALIZE!
> 
> I apologize if this chapter isn't the best, but the story must move on! Again, apologies if it's not the best and please enjoy!

The first visitor had been a man with white hair and icy blue eyes. He had been seated by the furthermost booth close to the staircase leading upstairs when Ren first saw him. Where he sat made it easy for Ren to catch sight of him when he came back from school.

The man's hair color had stood out the most followed by his attire, a neatly pressed dark navy blue suit that Ren felt was too expensive to be just simple business attire. The man's clothing only contributed in the man to stand out more in Leblanc's more 'retro' surroundings. It was hard to ignore him and often times Ren just couldn't help to stare at the man. A few regulars he saw sometimes when the man was around weren't shy to stare so openly at him as well and it only contributed to how obvious he just didn't quite fit in.

Sojiro didn't waste time in sparing the man with a few uneasy glances as he wiped down the counter or peered over his newspaper, but Ren saw the older man give no movement in shooing the man out. Besides at the end of the day the man was a paying customer and the obvious smile of approval on his face as he sipped his coffee gave Sojiro enough reason to not intrude on the man's peace.

Ren on the other hand never stuck around long enough to hear the man speak.

He would hesitate at the door a few times when he returned from school, the man not looking his direction and staring down at a book as one hand held the mug of coffee. Ren's pause didn't last and he immediately made a straight line towards the stairs. By the time he returned downstairs in a new change of clothes, the man was gone from his seat with the faint jingle of the bell confirming his exit.

Something in him squirmed uncomfortably whenever the man was around, but Ren was able to ignore it.

Besides, he didn't know the man and he wasn't planning on talking to him first.

The second visitor that had begun appearing was a young woman with long curly brown hair and teal blue eyes. She was seated at the booth closest to the door with her back towards the entrance. At first Ren had barely noticed her, which he should have considering she was right next to the door and Morgana commented a few times he could smell something very sweet when they walked by her.

However unlike the man who was preoccupied by a novel, the young woman often smiled and nodded towards him or anyone who caught sight of her.

When this woman came by Ren usually walked by her slowly, his eyes turning back to her until she looked his way. Her smile and nod of acknowledgement made him inhale sharply before he quickly returned her greeting and booking it upstairs. Like the man, the woman left almost immediately after Ren returned downstairs. Though in her case Ren felt a pang of...Disappointment?

Sojiro teased Ren for how quickly he had ran up to the attic or how she left when he arrived, as if she had been waiting for him to return. "I tried to stop her, but she told me she had somewhere to be. Dang kid did you do something?"

"No...I've only seen her for as long as she started coming here," was his answer to Sojiro's teasing before returning to his task of cleaning the counter. The nagging feeling continued to grow and grow at the sight of the woman that made Ren wonder.

Did he know her?

After seeing the two come by separately for a few days, Ren began to see them frequent the café together. This seemed to make him react, or rather something inside of his self-conscious to act up at the sight of them both together.

They liked to sit in the middle booth and when Ren came downstairs, they were still present sometimes.

The woman still smiled to him, but she never spoke to him directly. Instead her attention would be to the strange white haired man who smiled to her and whispered so low that Ren had to force himself to strain his ears to catch anything.

They spoke in English confirming they were foreigners, but all Ren could pick up on was the man explaining to the woman about his book. Morgana had offered to eavesdrop a few times, but Ren refused. The woman would probably be gentle, but something inside Ren did not want his companion near the man.

There was something that told him not to risk it.

As if he might know about Morgana.

When they left the man spoke in low tones to Sojiro and Ren restrained himself in his spot to not lean over to listen. The visits with the two began to increase in time and the nagging feeling in his head grew.

The dreams began and Ren realized it was all Arsene's fault.

Or rather the very manifestation of his true self was reacting to the sight of the two strangers. The woman and man were making his Persona react...And Ren wanted to know why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!


	3. Two Wedding RIngs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the perspective of Cardia, who has moved on yet continues to feel the lingering touches of the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER TIME! I do NOT own anything pertaining to the Persona series or Code: Realize!!
> 
> There are a few things on the Code: Realize side of the story that I forgot to address has changed for the sake of the story. In this case, Saint-Germain remains immortal after Lupin's route is finished and Idea is still around of course. Cardia is also immortal, but is poison free. 
> 
> Hopefully this along with what else I have written meet your expectations, please read on and continue to enjoy the story!

Cardia wears two rings on her finger.

The newest one is an emerald ring that shines brightly. Its usually the one everyone notices first. The green catching the light and the stones cut catches everyone off guard.

"Your husband must be so well off!"

Cardia can only smile in response.

Her husband....

The second ring is harder to see and very few notice it behind her emerald ring. A simple gold band with a diamond in the shape of a heart. This is placed behind the emerald ring, hiding yet present even if the man who gave it to her...Is no longer alive.

The diamond still shines and the gold band shows no discoloring. It's as perfect as the day he proposed to her.

She keeps wearing this ring on her finger at all times. The man she's with now understands and makes no comment about it. Out of respect and his own love for her, he says nothing. Cardia loves him for that and it's already a silent understanding between them that she loves him in a different way, he is not a replacement nor just someone to fill the void. She loves him as he is he, and that is all he ever wanted.

Being immortal had, and would always be, heartache.

Being that she wasn't human to begin with, immortality seemed too possible and the news didn't really cause much of a shock when they all realized that. Cardia noticed how Saint-Germain and her were stuck in time. The men she had forged a friendship with were beginning to age, save for Saint-Germain, and Cardia watched with an ache in her chest as each one began to change.

Van Helsing's blond hair began to lighten to white while Victor's began to follow suit with some graying before turning completely white. Both men wore glasses, but Cardia began to notice Victor squinting more while Van took a while to notice things from afar. Van once missed a target and despite him just brushing it off as just his skills being rusty Cardia could tell it bothered him. He became more cautious and was careful in his aiming during the times he used the old target practices in the back of the mansion. Often during these visits Van's eldest son would accompany him and asked if Cardia could kindly try to persuade his father to try and lessen the amount of practices he did.

Cardia didn't have the heart to tell him, though the boy also displayed bouts of it himself, that Van was extremely stubborn and wouldn't quite listen to her, or if he did it'd only be for that day.

Victor's clinic was taken over by his children, twins ironically, who asked Auntie Cardia to keep their father from working too much when he tried to use his old room back at the mansion to try out new formulas. The former alchemist laughed at that and only assured Cardia he only had one incident mixing chemicals resulting in smoke. Cardia still kept him in check and Victor obeyed at least...

She also didn't have the heart to remind Victor in the past his chemical reactions did occasionally lead to explosions or smoke sometimes emitting out of his room into the hallways, but she kept her mouth shut. At least he understood that her narrowed eyes meant that he better not attempt any experiments without her permission.

Impey's aging was minimal at best, being a vampire he was at least able to maintain his youthful appearance a bit longer compared to Van and Victor. Yet Cardia began to notice he was starting to age nevertheless. He began to wear glasses and he lightly joked or complained about how his back was starting to hurt just a tiny bit. Impey adopted a son and daughter who scolded him greatly when he spent too much time in his old workshop. Cardia remembered his son loudly ordering Impey to sit down and one time his daughter storming the mansion to drag him back home after finding him asleep on his workbench. His hair remained red for longer years than Van and Victor, but Cardia began to feel a sense of dread when the red began to turn gray.

The saddest part of it all was they all accepted it.

They weren't immortal like her and Saint-Germain, yet they continued to smile and laugh to the very last day...

Cardia's greatest heartache though...Had been for Lupin.

Her husband.

The gentleman thief that had not only stolen her heart, but also gave it to her with a new life she had loved so dearly.

The French gentleman thief had retired and they had moved back to London after he had successfully found a successor to take up the mantle and his legacy. The boy was practically their son and Cardia continued to communicate with him even after they left Paris. The rest of their years were spent in peace, or as much peace as possible without a certain detective stopping by to tease Lupin a bit. Cardia and Lupin were happy and despite the lack of adventure, they found it perfectly fine to spend the rest of their days just enjoying each other's company...

Much like the others, Lupin's hair started to grow white.

First it had been one strand, than a few more...Cardia remembers hearing her husband whine and complain, but calmed down when she pressed a light kiss to his temple and assured him he was still handsome. Next came his reflexes, much like Van Lupin had accidentally missed just a second too late in catching a tipping tray of tea that he had bumped into. She can recall the crashing of china on the floor and a splash of brown on the carpet as Lupin began to yell out a string of curse words in French.

He had never once been that slow.

The tea set had been thrown out and they apologized to Saint-Germain when he had returned for ruining it. They had at least managed to get the tea out of the carpet though it had faintly smelled like tea for the next week.

Cardia remembers the frustration he had felt, but she also remembers more of the happy times. Lupin always told her he loved her with all his heart and she remained with him for as long as it had been possible. He was still her husband, he was still her gentleman thief that had whisked her away from her life of isolation and showed her love. He had granted her wish and she still loved him no matter what.

Then it came...

The first had been Victor, then Van....Lupin was after Van....And Impey had passed.

She had cried for all of them, her heart aching as she stared at each grave that had been placed. Lupin had been present for her to hold her as she sobbed into his shoulder when they attended Victor's and Van's funerals. It had been Saint-Germain and Impey who held her hands tightly as she wept over Lupin's casket....Saint-Germain had been there to hold her close as Impey passed in his sleep.

Despite the loss Cardia was grateful still for the families of her friends and Saint-Germain.

She was still known as 'Auntie Cardia' to every generation of children of her friends and she was always happy to extend a helping hand to them in whatever they needed or even telling them stories of their respective grandfathers. She tells them all their adventures and their traits that she contentiously sees in all of them, she cries when her adoptive son and her future grandchildren come by and she tells them all about Lupin. 

In her heart they are all still with her...

Saint-Germain continued to remain by her side, even as he was no longer an Apostle of Idea and she no longer had poison in her touch, they had still found her a threat and monitored her in some fear the loss of her husband and friends would spark something. It proved she wasn't such a threat and they were both left alone to their own devices, just two immortals who spent their days in peace as the world continued to change. It didn't come to much of a surprise to Cardia when she heard from the white haired man that Lupin had come to him in private with the request that after his death he would continue to look after her.

It seemed to be some unspoken pact with her husband and the others that Saint-Germain would be the one who would make sure Cardia was alright.

That she was no longer alone and at the very least had someone they all trusted to continue being by her side.

In the end, it didn't surprise her that she and him eventually came to be together. His presence had been a constant throughout the years that followed and his love for her made her realize that eternity wasn't a punishment. Saint-Germain had been there to comfort her as she wept for everyone, he had been there to help ease her back onto her feet and make her realize that life was still something she could cherish. There were days when she often lingered by the windows of their mansion and just stared out into the blue sky, her eyes stinging with tears from the ache in her chest. Then he would be there to embrace her and kiss her to break whatever trance she had to ground her back to the present.

It was difficult...

It had been heart aching...

Yet Cardia was still happy.

She still is a guardian of sorts to the many who call her 'Auntie Cardia' and she is always marveled at how the world continued to change and grow. She and Saint-Germain travel around, both happy in these trips that make them realize the world is forever wonderful.

She is happy...

Yet as she gazes down at her wedding rings, she can hear something...

It grows loud on days she remembers the night Lupin had stolen her away and it grows constant when she's left alone. She can feel faint arms that aren't Saint-Germain's wrap around her shoulders. A soft voice of a man who teased her in French and laughed merrily when she retorted back in his mother tongue to stop before kissing him. The odd sense of some connection is present too often that it comes to the point where she takes hold of Saint-Germain's hand to tell him.

The man who is now her husband is puzzled, but he slowly smiles to her before understanding what she is asking of him.

The shine of the emerald wedding ring is bright, but the near glow of her diamond ring flickers about as they both begin to leave their mansion for another trip.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed!!


End file.
